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Installing Observer

This section will guide you through the installation process for AnyShake Observer.

Supported Platforms​

AnyShake Observer runs on a wide range of platforms. Some architectures also support Docker images (highlighted in bold):

  • Android (arm64)
  • macOS (amd64 / arm64)
  • FreeBSD (x86 / amd64 / arm / arm64)
  • Windows 7 and later (x86 / amd64 / arm / arm64)
  • Linux (x86 / amd64 / arm / arm64 / ppc64le / riscv64 / s390x / mips / mips64 / mips64le / mipsle / loong64)

In fact, AnyShake Observer can even run on a Raspberry Pi 1 Model B+ (overclocked to 950 MHz, with 100 MB of swap) with all core services enabled!

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Although AnyShake Observer has very modest hardware requirements, we recommend using a system with at least 1 GB of RAM and a dual-core CPU for a smoother experience.

Installation Options​

Depending on your platform and preferences, there are several ways to install AnyShake Observer. This section covers the most common and recommended method.

Pre-Built Packages​

This is the recommended installation method for most users. Pre-built packages are stable, easy to install, and require minimal configuration.

Download the Binary​

Pre-built binaries are available on the GitHub Releases page of the AnyShake Observer repository:

Check out github.com/anyshake/observer/releases

Each release includes assets named like:

  • windows_amd64.zip – Windows 64-bit
  • linux_arm32_v7a.zip – Linux ARM 32-bit
  • macos_arm64.zip – macOS Apple Silicon

All pre-built packages are provided in .zip format. Download the one that matches your system, then unzip it to any directory.

You will also find .dgst files such as linux_amd64.zip.dgst – these contain MD5, SHA1, SHA2-256, and SHA2-512 digests for verifying file integrity.

Determine Your System Architecture​

To find the correct binary, determine your system’s architecture:

For Windows users:

Open cmd and type:

> echo %PROCESSOR_ARCHITECTURE%
  • If you see x86, you’re on 32-bit Windows, use a package with _386 suffix.
  • If you see AMD64, you’re on 64-bit Windows, use a package with _amd64 suffix.
  • For Windows 7 users, use the package with windows7_ prefix.

For Linux users:

Use this command:

$ uname -m
  • If it returns x86_64, use the _amd64 package.
  • If it returns i686, use the _386 package.
  • For ARM devices like Raspberry Pi, it may return armv7l, aarch64, etc. Remember to choose the appropriate linux_arm* package accordingly.

Verify the Downloaded File​

Each .zip file has a corresponding .dgst digest file. You can verify the integrity of the downloaded binary using:

$ cat linux_amd64.zip.dgst
MD5 = dd3a79d4baf00bcf09ad3b325d5d516b
...
$ echo "dd3a79d4baf00bcf09ad3b325d5d516b linux_amd64.zip" | md5sum -c
linux_amd64.zip: OK

Replace linux_amd64.zip and the hash with the appropriate filenames and values for your system.

Install the Binary​

After extracting the ZIP package, you’ll find the following files:

  • observer.exe – Windows executable
  • observer – Linux/macOS executable
  • config.json – Default configuration file
  • observer.service – Linux systemd service file (optional)
tip

The default config.json may not be suitable for your system, so you need to edit it or generate a new one to override the default values before copying. We recommend using the AnyShake Prisma to generate a new configuration, see Configuration Tool to learn more.

For Windows users:

  1. Create a directory, for example, C:\Program Files\AnyShake Observer. Installation Directory
  2. Place observer.exe and config.json in the newly created directory. Installation Files

For Linux users:

  1. Add your user to the dialout group (for serial port access):
$ sudo usermod -a -G dialout $USER
  1. Create the configuration directory and copy config.json:
$ sudo mkdir -p /usr/local/etc/observer
$ sudo cp config.json /usr/local/etc/observer/
  1. Copy the binary to a system path:
$ sudo cp observer /usr/local/bin/
  1. To verify the installation:
$ which observer
/usr/local/bin/observer

Docker Image​

If you prefer containers, an official Docker image is available.

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The Docker installation method is not recommended for Windows users, as it is difficult to map serial devices properly.

Pull the Image​

$ docker pull ghcr.io/anyshake/observer:latest

Run the Container​

Mount the config file and, if applicable, the serial port:

$ docker run -d \
    --name observer \
    --network host \
    --restart always \
    --device /dev/ttyUSB0:/dev/ttyUSB0 \
    --volume /path/to/config.json:/config.json \
    ghcr.io/anyshake/observer:latest \
    --config /config.json
  • Replace /path/to/config.json with the actual path on your host
  • Replace /dev/ttyUSB0 with your actual serial port if applicable

If you don’t use a hardware serial connection, the --device flag is not needed.